Newsletter

What Is It?

Can you tell us the make and model of this 2012 vehicle?

The photo last week showed the 2012 Volvo C70, a convertible with a folding metal roof to keep out the bad weather while letting the sunshine in. For a better photo and information, read this week’s road test.

Chosen randomly from the correct entries was Dave Amick, of Evans. He wins a prize from The Augusta Chronicle.

Some readers guessed the vehicle to be a Lexus convertible, but the other readers correctly identifying the Volvo were:

CANTON, GA.: David Anderson wrote: “Hopefully the retractable hardtop convertibles of today are better engineered (i.e., fewer, more reliable components), than the great-granddaddy of them all, the 1957-59 Ford Skyliners. Yet, I still love those old Skyliners even though trunk space with the top down was reduced basically to a wash tub container.

“I would expect that if anyone is going to do this model right, that it would be a car manufacturer that basically builds and sells cars at and for the top of the world. I would dare say that you will not find a single draft blowing into the passenger compartment in the dead of winter in this C70.

“Technology features abound in this model, from its 5-cylinder turbocharged engine to the rear wheels that ‘turn slightly to glide you through corners.’ It also has the (self-proclaimed) most comfortable automotive driver seat.

“Just as much thought seems to have gone into the ride quality and enjoyment of driving with the top down as with it up. Too frequently a convertible version of a vehicle is just that; a car that has had the top cut off with no thought given to how that impacts the driving experience.

“Even with all of this technology though, the one thing that really grabbed my attention was a no cost optional spare tire. Are the rest of you manufacturers listening? No cost. Come on, you can throw a spare tire in the trunk just because I asked for it!”

CUMMING, GA.: Chris Rhodes wrote: “The vehicle shown in this week’s edition of ‘What Is It?’ is a 2012 (or ’13) Volvo C70 convertible. Equipped with a retractable hardtop, the C70 offers both an open-air option as well as a very weather-tight ‘coupe’ with the top in place.

“For the ’12 model, Volvo powertrain engineers have fiddled with the engine control unit on the Inscription model and extracted an additional 23 horsepower and 37 pound-feet of torque from the 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine.

“As with all Volvo models, the C70 is chock full of safety features and electronic nannies to reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries. With that said, I can tell you from daily experience that Volvo drivers have accidents at about the same frequency as the rest of the driving public.”